Naha Mint Hamdi Ould Mouknass was born on March 10, 1969, in Nouakchott. She obtained an advanced degree in management and finance from the ISG Business School in Paris in 1995. In 2000, she succeeded her father as president of the Union for Democracy and Progress, becoming the only woman to lead a Mauritanian political party and only the second female party leader in the Arab world. In 200 and 2001 she worked as an advisor to then-president Maaouiya Ould Taya. She later served as a member of the National Assembly. On August 11th, 2009, she was appointed to the post of minister of foreign affairs and co-operation.